Continued adventures

Shalom! (Shalom means peace in Hebrew, in case you don't know). I hope this finds everyone well. I'm two days behind in describing my adventures, so I thought I better write. Yesterday (1/2/08), we had an afternoon class, so we spent the morning doing the Ramparts Walk in the Old City. The Ramparts Walk is a walk along the top of the walls that protect the Old City. It was quite neat to walk along the wall, even though it was definitely treacherous at times. Steep stairs, narrow paths, etc. Anyway, I kept thinking that 100s (probably 1000s) of years ago, people stood on those walls ready to defend Jerusalem from attackers. Quite amazing. I remember being in Europe and thinking it was old, but this place - this is amazingly old. Hard to truly comprehend.

In the afternoon, I attended class, and Qadi (Judge) Natour presented. He is the highest authority on Islamic law in all of Israel. Pretty neat. He's been asked to be on the Israel Supreme Court (he chose not to for various reasons), and he is well respected by both the Muslim and the Jewish communities. Pretty amazing that he came to speak to our class.

After class, Kara, Amber, and I came back to our rooms and worked on the plans for our weekend getaway to the Dead Sea and Masada. Sidenote: At least 6 of us will be going there tomorrow (for those of you that know, the weekends in Israel consist of Friday and Saturday, not Saturday and Sunday - Shabbat is Friday). I think we have our hotel set up, and I'm looking forward to soaking in the Dead Sea and climbing Masada (or more likely taking the cable car). Masada is listed as a must do in my travel guide, so I hope it lives up to its promise.

Anyway, after we got those plans lined up, we attended the evening lecture and learned about conflict resolution within the Hindu tradition, and this was also quite fascinating. One of our fellow classmates presented, and he did an excellent job. After that, Amber and I came back to the room and crashed - read books, played around on the computer, and went to bed early. We are both a bit wiped out. I also think my sleeping schedule is still messed up, but I'm not sure. Regardless, we (Kara, Amber, and me) call ourselves the three old ladies. :) Several of our classmates are going out until 3 am on various nights, and I just don't have the energy to do that.

Today (1/3/08), we had morning class again and then a tour of the Israel Supreme Court. The tour was pretty good, but it was nothing special. Basically, it was just the tour that anyone in the public can get. When I was in France, we had a special tour of the Supreme Court, so I was expecting something similar to that. Regardless, the building is quite neat, and the architecture is filled with a great deal of symbolism.

After that tour, Amber, Vince, and I went to Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum). Obviously, words cannot capture that experience, but it was both amazing and devastating. The museum sits on 45 acres of land and has both outdoor and indoor exhibits. I thought the cattle car memorial was especially moving, and I also found the outdoor exhibit which listed all the names of the cities where the Jewish population was either decimated completely or significantly diminished was also excellent. Another excellent exhibit was the Hall of Names, which holds all the documented names of Jews killed in the Holocaust. The room also contained pictures of many of the victims. Quite moving and disturbing overall. Several times throughout the tour, I found myself near tears. I think it would be sad if I wasn't honestly. One of the saddest things: when a survivor returned to her neighborhood, her neighbor asked, "didn't they kill all of you?" Humans can be amazingly wretched, but the 1000s of names listed as rescuers and the 100s of stories about folks that helped the Jews despite a huge risk of peril also reminded me that humans can be wonderful. I found a rescuer (I think they are called the righteous) named Anton Schmid! He was from Austria and was serving in the German Wermacht (army). He helped many Jews, but unfortunately he was caught and executed. I have no idea if my family has any old relation to him, but it was still neat to see my name there. Overall, Yad Vashem was an amazing experience, and I'm very glad I went. Oh, pictures weren't allowed inside (of course), so I don't have much to show from there.

After Yad Vashem, we headed back to Maiersdorf, and things have been chill for a bit. I think we are going to head out to dinner in the Old City and to see the Western Wall (aka Wailing Wall) at night, which I've heard is quite cool. We don't seem to be moving very quickly however, so I'm not sure what actually will happen.

Random note: George Bush is coming to Jerusalem next week. This is not a good thing for us, as it means that security will be insane, and many places in the city, places we want to go, will probably be closed or at the very least have limited access. Yad Vashem is an example, so I'm glad we made it there today. They are also telling us that we might have a hard time leaving the country on the 11th. If that happens, I will most likely be stuck in Warsaw overnight, as I don't have a ton of time in between my flights and I can't imagine Lot Polish Airlines flies to Chicago more than once a day. Yikes! Oh well, at least I've stayed in a foreign city by myself before. All will work out. I can't wait to see how lost my luggage gets on the way home! ;)

One more random note: the weather here has been fantastic! No rain, tons of sun, and decently warm. I was walking around the Old City in jeans and a t-shirt, sometimes with a North Face jacket, and I felt great. Today, I just wore black pants and a dress shirt, and I didn't feel cold until later in the evening. If I go out tonight, I will wear jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt, a fleece vest, and my North Face jacket. I heard it's brutally cold at home, so I'm especially grateful for the change of pace.

Okay, that's all for tonight. I'm off to the Dead Sea and Masada tomorrow, and I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging. I'll do my best.

The Pictures:

1) Another view from the Ramparts Walk. This is a view of the Mount of Olives. According to the bible, the people buried there will be the first people redeemed when the Messiah arrives or returns, depending on your religion. ;)
2) A view from Yad Vashem (again, the place is amazingly beautiful and huge)
3) A view of the Old City from the Ramparts Walk
4) Yesterday's sunset from my room
5) Me and Karyna, waiting to get on the bus to go to the Supreme Court - overlooking the city.
6) German cattle car used to transport Jews to concentration camps during WWII.
7) A small part of the Valley of the Communities at Yad Vashem (every city in which the Jewish population was decimated or destroyed is listed)
8) Amber and Vince in the Valley of the Communities

Love to all!

A few more pictures

A few more:

1) View from the Ramparts Walk - some people think this might be the tomb of Jesus.
2) View from the Ramparts Walk.
3) Classmates on the Ramparts Walk.
4) Classmates on the Ramparts Walk.
5) Watch your step, Joe! Ramparts Walk.

A thousand words

I don't have time to really write this morning, so I posted a bunch of pictures. I hope you enjoy!

In order:
1) View from my room!
2) Mike's place - where we rung in 2008!
3) Amber, Kara, and me at Mike's
4) Some of the gang at Mike's
5) Daniel, Me, and Michelle at Mike's
6) Wall of the Old City as seen from the Ramparts Walk. Ramparts Walk is a walk along (on top of) the walls that protect the Old City.
7) Ramparts Walk
8) Me on the Ramparts Walk (note the new clothes!)
9) Me on the Ramparts Walk
10) View from the Ramparts Walk
11) Gotcha, Michael!
12) Ramparts walk - Dome of the Rock in the background
13) Dome of the Rock

I LOVE sleep!

I think I told everyone that my luggage arrived yesterday, and I can't tell you how happy I am to have new clothes! I put on jeans and a t-shirt, and fresh everything else. It was awesome! I must have been tired/stressed or something, because after I put on my fresh PJs, I slept for 14 hours. I fell asleep at 4 pm and didn't wake up until 6 am (well, I woke up occasionally, but you know what I mean). I feel terrific today, and after I take a shower, I get to wear new clothes! Yay!

However, my 14 hours of sleep also mean that I have nothing new to report. So, instead, I will just share some general thoughts on random things.

First, taxi drivers here are insane! I've literally been carsick on almost every ride (I've now figured out that I MUST sit in the front seat, and that seems to help a lot). They drive super fast, and rush hour doesn't seem to intimidate them one bit. They just force their way into traffic, etc. We come so close to other cars that I could literally give the other drivers a high five or a handshake. Craziness! However, they almost always get us to where we want to go, and the price is decently reasonable too. On NYE however, they dropped me, Ben, and Amber off somewhere VERY far from campus (I don't think the driver knew we meant Hebrew University on Mount Scopus and not just Mount Scopus - or he was being a jerk, who knows). Anyway, we had no idea where we were, it was late (dark), so we had to get another cab! That one at least took us to campus, and then we were able to get in. Anyway, the point is that taxi drivers are slightly insane here. :)

Second, the security is odd. There are people everywhere with machine guns, and army units (I think that's what they are) march through the Old City in formation, etc. (for those of you that don't know, military service is compulsory for all Israelis, men and women, after they finish high school. This results in a VERY young looking military force, at least from what I can tell so far). Also, our school is basically a compound - you have to present your ID or passport to get back in at certain hours, and you have to go through security too. However, during the day, security seems quite lax, which I find odd. I'm not really scared or anything, but since they are so worried about violence (completely legitimate worries), it seems they would be hard core all the time. A note to my mom - please don't worry too much. I'm being very safe and smart. We don't go to the areas where violence is likely, etc.

Third, campus in general is beautiful. I should really take some pictures and post them, because I've never seen a campus like it before. Great old buildings, the sidewalks are made out of what seems like metallic rock (I have no idea if it's really stone or metal), and it's just all around beautiful. At the same time, it's completely modern. Wifi in some places, inet in all the rooms, all that stuff. Yesterday, Michael showed me a falafel shop and the grocery store, so I had a fabulous lunch and a nice visit with him (a 2L at HUSL). Oh, a random note about campus - there are cats everywhere! They are quite cute, and they sometimes roam into the buildings. Normally, seeing them would make me sad, but they seem to be in fabulous shape (not skinny, good fur, etc). That's definitely not something that I saw on American university campuses!

Fourth, at designated Muslim prayer times (five times a day), announcements or perhaps the prayers themselves are blasted over what seems like loud speakers from the various mosques. I think it might be called the call to prayer, but I'm really not sure what it is. It can be quite disconcerting at 5 am, when the first announcement goes off, but it's also pretty cool. Quite surreal actually. I will be learning more about Islam in today's class, so perhaps I can actually explain what I'm hearing after that, who knows.

Fifth, the food. I could eat this food everyday for every meal for the rest of my life and be happy. It's delicious. Pitas, hummus, kababs, fresh vegetables, unique spices, awesome sauces. I bought some fantastic looking oranges at the store yesterday, and I can't wait to eat those. I also bought some chocolate chips (it says chips) cookies, and they are excellent too. It would be easy to gain weight here, but I think the amount of walking could help curb that as well.

Today, we have class later in the day, so I am going with Kara and Amber to walk on the ramparts in the Old City. I'm not really sure what this means, but it sounded interesting. Our weekend plans for the Dead Sea and Mosada are shaping up, so that should be quite fun as well. The sun is up, and it makes the view from my room amazing. I will post pictures of the view soon - I forgot my camera cord so I have to borrow from others.

I have to go now - breakfast in a half hour! Yum, I'm starving. I get to enjoy some of the delicious food!

Pictures: First one on the left is a view from Maiersdorf Faculty Club, where I'm staying. The view isn't the one from my room, but it's also beautiful. The first one on the right and the third picture down are from Old City (I thought the palm tree was neat - I wanted to show that they have lots of different kinds of vegetation here), and the fourth picture is another picture of Warsaw, one of the Christmas trees in Old Town to be more precise. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! I know it's close to the celebrating hour at home, so I hope everyone is having fun and enjoying good food, drink, and company.

December 31 was an excellent day here. We had class in the morning, and I found the topic to be quite fascinating. We talked about dispute resolution in Judaism, and we had an excellent speaker, Michael Tsur. He has negotiated many major deals, and he is also a hostage negotiator. Big time person here. Very cool.

After class, Michelle, Karina (two classmates), and I decided to head into the Old City for lunch and just general sightseeing. My understanding of the Old City is limited, but I believe it's basically what used to constitute historical Jerusalem. It is walled in (the walls might be temple walls, I can't believe I don't know at the moment), and one of the walls is the famous wailing wall (we are having some organized tours later, so I can tell you all much more about that then). The Old City is divided into four quarters: Christian, Muslim, Armenian, and Jewish. We wandered throughout the market, ate a fabulous lunch outside (delicious and cheap!), bought some baklava and bread, and just enjoyed the scenery. Old City is unlike any place I've ever been, and I'm not sure how to even describe it. There are tons and tons of little street shops, selling all sorts of things - food, fruit, juice, clothing, shoes, and even paint, as in like a mini Home Depot (very mini)! It is also filled with hugely important religious sites: the previously mentioned wailing wall, the Dome of the Rock (Mosque I think), and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Many if not all of the Stations of the Cross actually took place within the Old City, and you can trace the last steps of Jesus. Really, simply amazing. I can't wait to learn more about the entire place, and our upcoming tours should be amazingly helpful. I feel like an idiot for not knowing more, but I just didn't have enough personal time with the guidebook before we landed. Oh well, it was simply cool to just walk around and experience the place yesterday. Stay tuned for accurate information on Old City!

After we returned from the Old City, several of the American students and two of the Aussies met up and got ready to hit the town for New Year's Eve. As I mentioned in the last post, NYE is not a big deal here, so we weren't sure where we would wind up. In excellent news however, one of the Aussies studied at Hebrew University for a semester, and she became a fabulous tour guide. We had dinner at some burger joint, and it was honestly one of the best burgers I've ever had. Naomi, the Aussie, told us that a lot of the foreign Jews love that place, and it definitely had a younger, global crowd. After burgers, we hit up an American bar called Mike's Place, and that's where we spent the remainder of our evening. They played American classic rock music, and then the band played covers of American classic rock hits. We drank (well, diet coke for me), danced, laughed, and toasted in the New Year. A truly excellent night, but a late one, so many of us will be dragging through class today. Oh well, the evening was well worth it!

Today, I have class from 8:30 until 12:30, and then I think I will take a nap. I also hope to have my luggage, which will mean fresh clothes. I can honestly hardly wait. One of my classmates lent me a shirt (thanks, Michael - you're a rock star), so at least the t-shirt under the brown sweater is fresh. After napping, who knows what will happen - food will be on the agenda, and perhaps some more sightseeing as well.

This weekend, we are planning to get out of town (Jerusalem basically shuts down completely for Shabbat), and I think we are going to go to Mosada and the Dead Sea - I will provide more information on these places later.

The pictures: a tower on one of the walls surrounding the Old City, me in the market in Old City, the Dome of the Rock (Muslim), and a view from just inside (or outside? I was a bit confused) the Old City. If you click on the pictures, you should be able to see much larger versions. Also, soon you will see me in new clothes - how exciting! ;)

Okay, that's all for now - I have to head to class.

Lots of love and Happy 2008!

Who DOESN'T want to wear the same outfit 5 days in a row?

As you know from my last post, Lot Polish Airlines lost my luggage (and they lost Kari's and Bethany's as well). Kari's and Bethany's bags showed up today, December 31. Unfortunately however, my bag is still in Frankfurt! In good news, it's supposed to arrive tomorrow. I really don't fully understand what happened, why the bags were lost, why it took so long to send them on their way, etc. I'm frustrated with the entire situation, and it does not help that the airport lost luggage folks are not helpful or interested in being helpful, and it's VERY difficult to contact anyone at Lot. Lesson learned from this: do NOT fly Lot airlines. Stick with airlines that primarily speak English. :) Also, I often forget that the rest of the world does not embrace American efficiency. Frustrating in this situation, but fabulous in other situations. Thus, I cannot complain all that much.

Given the lost bag, I've been wearing the same clothes since the 28th. Yuck. I did of course go out and buy a few necessities such as undergarments, socks, etc. But the main outfit - sweater/fleece shirt, t-shirt, and pants - is the same. I may have to burn these clothes upon my return home. We'll see. Ick ick ick.

In an actual travel update, here you go, in detail:

We started our travels with a canceled flight out of MSP. Fortunately I checked flight status from home, and when I discovered the flight was canceled, Sarah and I dashed off to the airport to figure out what I would do. United was quite helpful and signed me up for another flight that was to leave in 1/2 hour. I promptly called Kari and told her to get to the airport quickly so they could make the same flight. I then dashed off to security, where I was immediately pulled aside for special screening. I cannot imagine that the misspelled name on my boarding pass helped that situation, but I got through okay, boarded the plane, and waited...and waited and waited. It turns out that all flights into Chicago were stopped for a bit due to the snow storm. Fortunately, this allowed Kari and Bethany to catch up with me, and they boarded the plane right before we took off. All seemed good - we were together and were on our way to Chicago with plenty of time to catch our flight to Warsaw.

After an uneventful flight, we landed in Chicago and made our way to the Lot check in area. We waited in line, and when we stepped up to the desk, they asked for our luggage tags...I had no luggage tag. It seems the United people took mine when I checked in, and I didn't notice because I've NEVER needed one before (even for my other international flights). She then proceeded to tell me that my bag might not make it to Warsaw (so prophetic). She also harassed Bethany about her passport, and I'm still not sure what that was about. Being concerned about what might happen to my luggage, I called United Airlines, and they provided me with my luggage tag number. I promptly provided this number to the desk clerk from Lot, and she said no problem, everything should be fine. At that point, I felt relieved...so naive! ;)

Looking back, it's hard not to wonder if she had something to do with the fact that all of our bags didn't leave Chicago...I hate to think that someone would be that vindictive, but I'm just not sure how that would happen, since the other folks from Chicago had their bags in Tel Aviv. Anyway, the flight to Warsaw was just fine, though I was really bored (the movies were terrible - The Santa Clause 3 and High School Musical. And some really random tv. Again, just say no to Lot Polish Airlines).

We landed in Warsaw at about 9:30 am their time, and a very nice man that Bethany met on the plane got us a cab and took us into the Old Town area (he even paid for the cab!). We then walked around Warsaw, enjoying breakfast, a coffee, and later dinner, mostly to avoid the cold (who knew it was so cold in Poland - not the girl in the brown pants, fleece sweater, and t-shirt, that's for sure!). Old Town was quite neat - lots of little restaurants, a town square, shops, horse carriages, a music grinder, tons of Christmas decorations, etc. We also toured the King's Palace (the names could be all messed up for Warsaw - it was sort of a blur). The Palace was interesting because it was basically completely rebuilt in the 1950s, as Warsaw was leveled during WWII. That sort of killed some of the charm for me. Also, having seen Versailles, this palace seemed...puny I guess. Additionally, we saw what we think is a monument for the Warsaw Ghetto and the Warsaw Uprising (check out your War and Holocaust history, peeps! Polish Jews suffered horrifically during the War, and their population was almost completely decimated).

Toward the end of the day, we were all exhausted and cold, so we decided to do some shopping in the City Center. Unfortunately for gimpy, that involved a LONG walk on cobblestone streets. We finally made it to the stores, and I just didn't have the energy to participate in the shopping. We decided to find a place for me to sit down, and the best we could find was the bench outside the dressing room at some department store. K and B then left all their stuff with me and hit the stores. I tried to read, but I kept nodding off, and then when I would jolt awake, I felt terrified that they were going to kick me out of the store, as I must have looked like a homeless person - sleeping, surrounded by bags, disheveled, etc. Finally, the girls returned and I got to give up the hobo gig.

After dinner, we headed to the airport, where we promptly made little beds and fell asleep. We had been awake for a LONG time at that point. I never thought I would be one of those people, the people that make beds out of chairs, sleep on the floor, etc., but there I was, out cold. We woke up to find ourselves surrounded by a bunch of annoying travelers, some a big group of Americans. I suddenly felt like an old, wizened traveler, someone that gets annoyed by loud, obnoxious travelers. It was quite funny, considering we probably WERE those people in Chicago. It's funny what a few hours and no sleep can do.

Overall, Warsaw seemed like a neat city - lots of history, decent people, lively, and a cool place to explore. I've heard that Krakow is amazing however, so if I ever make it back to Poland, I think that's where I will go.

The flight to Tel Aviv was just fine, but as you all know, it did not end well due to the missing luggage. After we filed our reports, we proceeded to catch a sherout, or a shuttle, to Jerusalem. That went just fine, and we met a very nice young woman who is eventually moving to America. Upon arrival at Hebrew University, we asked about checking into our rooms, and the front desk clerk almost laughed and said we couldn't check in until 12:00. It was about 6:30 or 7:00 am at that time. Having no idea what to do at that point, we enjoyed a breakfast of gummi bears and once again made little beds in the lobby and fell asleep. The female staff at Maiersdorf did not like this at all, and they kept yelling at us. At that point, I probably could have physically harmed them, but I don't think that Israeli jail is a good idea. Finally, some other students from the group arrived, including the Professor and the administrator, so we had a little tour of the campus and got our IDs, etc. It was during this time that we went to the campus bookstore to purchase the above mentioned necessities as well. Finally finally finally, we got to our rooms and I got to shower. It was a fantastic shower, even if it was cold.

The city of Jerusalem is absolutely beautiful. My room overlooks it, and tonight I watched the sunset over the city. I can see the Dome of the Rock within the Old City from here, and I catch my breath each time I look out. Amazing. Remind me to write about cab drivers and drivers in general here - absolutely insane!

Later Sunday evening, a group of us went to Ben Yehuda Street (seems like the happening street in town - for food, shopping, bars, etc.) to eat, and we had a nice time. Israel is expensive though, and that meal cost quite a bit. I am blowing through the shekels, and that is not good. Not much I can do about it now, so I'm going to just enjoy each day.

Okay, I have more to share, but I need to go now as some of us are getting ready to celebrate New Year's at an American restaurant we found (NYE is not big here, as this isn't the Jewish new year, and I'm not sure what it represents for Muslims). I hope you are all well, and I will write more soon.

Love and happy new year!

PS: The picture on the left is of Old Town in Warsaw, and the picture on the right is sad Lisa upon arrival to Maiersdorf with no luggage and no room. :) More pics to follow soon.

Made it!

Well, I'm typing this while sitting in the coffee shop of Hebrew University, and I'm looking out at the city of Jerusalem. It's beautiful! Getting here was quite the adventure, as my first flight was canceled, Kari and Bethany barely made the replacement flight, we spent 11 hours in Warsaw, our luggage is now lost (as in not in Israel at the moment), and Bethany lost her ipod and a bunch of other things too (we're not sure if they were stolen or if they fell out of her bag at some point), and I can't check into my my room until 12:00 here, so another 3 hours (we landed in Jerusalem at 4 am or so). I'm unbelievably tired, but despite all the chaos, I find myself in fairly decent spirits. I'm excited to begin this adventure, even if it means I'll be wearing the same clothes for days on end! ;)

Anyway, I have much, much more to share from my days of travel adventure, but I'm too tired to write anything decent at the moment. Stay tuned for a real update, with pictures and everything. :)

Love to all!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Well, I'm all packed and ready to go (thank goodness for Kami and Sarah!). My flight leaves tomorrow at 1:45 or so, and I'll be traveling for a LONG time before I arrive in Jerusalem. I'm not very religious, but please do send positive thoughts my way the next few days. Thanks much!

If all goes well, the next post will be live from Jerusalem!

Love to all!

Israel Here I Come!

On December 28, I will be leaving the good ol' USA to explore a completely foreign place (to me): Jerusalem, Israel. I'm going for a J-term class at Hamline University School of Law, and I will be gone until January 11. It will be odd to miss holiday break at home and especially odd to celebrate New Year's abroad, but I'm quite excited for the trip regardless. I don't think it's set in that I'm really leaving on Friday however. I haven't really begun to pack, I haven't looked at my course materials, and I haven't even glanced at my Lonely Planet travel guide. Yikes! I guess it will all come together in the end; it always does. Plus, I'm lucky to know Jill, who's been to Israel several times. I'm sure she will provide some much needed guidance (Jill, you must do that!). :)

I plan to bring my laptop on the trip, and as a result I hope to update this blog regularly. I found that I didn't do a good job documenting my European travels, and now when I look back at pics I kind of wonder why I thought certain things were important, etc. Hopefully the blog will allow me to do a better job chronicling my adventures; we'll see.

First request to anyone reading this: please do not send me text messages from December 28 - Jan 11, as each message will cost me 50 cents! Clearly, I cannot maintain my text whore ways at that price! I could block all texts, but I want to be able to use texts in case of an emergency. So, help your friend out and contact me via email during that time. I very much appreciate it.

That's all for tonight - not too shabby for my first official blog post. Stay tuned for more (hopefully) exciting updates, particularly from Israel!

PS: Merry Christmas!

Christmas Greetings - myspace blog post

Christmas greetings to all,

Long time no write, I know. Finals kept me extraordinarily busy, and I just didn't find the time to blog. However, now that I'm getting ready to head off to Israel, I decided it was time to create a real blog, one that everyone, not just my myspace friends, can access. I hope to chronicle my travels, and then just life in general, and I hope you all enjoy reading it. Check it out at: Schmiddy's Thoughts on Life

Thanks, and love to all!

LMS